


brotherhood

by unsungillumination



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Birthday, Fluff, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-10
Updated: 2017-03-10
Packaged: 2018-10-02 03:30:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10208570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unsungillumination/pseuds/unsungillumination
Summary: prince noctis lucis caelum has always wanted friends.companion piece to thebrotherhoodprequel series. a birthday gift for shazamitylam!





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shazamitylam](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shazamitylam/gifts).



> this will probably not make very much sense if you haven't watched the _brotherhood_ prequels. if you haven't seen them, you can watch them [here](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbhHt7tfNMCAhpjJlSh3Rm7KSdcmuzM4m) on youtube! there are five episodes of less than twenty minutes each and they are very nice.
> 
> this is a birthday present for my wonderful friend [pearly (shazamitylam)](http://archiveofourown.org/users/shazamitylam)! i hope you like it!

_Prompto_

 

   Strange boy.

   Noctis didn’t know much about him, thinking about it, but that wasn’t surprising. Noctis didn’t know much about anyone, given that he spoke to almost no one.

   Still, the boy _was_ strange. They’d barely spoken before then and it seemed he spent most of his time looking down at his camera, trying to make himself small and generally invisible.

   (Maybe Noctis should ask him for tips. He was tired of being asked how many cooks he had preparing his cereal.)

   And then the other day had happened, and the boy had charged up to him with a smile on his face - and promptly fallen on it. The whole thing had been quite out of nowhere, Noctis thought - but he hadn’t had time to dwell on it, and he’d run for the bell, and the whole encounter had been over just like that.

   And the boy hadn’t spoken to him since.

   Strange, strange boy. It actually seemed to Noctis that the boy had been _avoiding_ him since that day - but why, he thought, it didn’t make sense - why would the boy approach him in the first place, if he disliked him so much?

   Yet still Noctis would feel eyes on him and turn, only to see the boy hastily disappear behind a corner.

   It didn’t bother him so much, really; it was _odd_ , to be sure, but it wasn’t as though being treated strangely was something he was unfamiliar with. Nobody seemed to know where they stood with him and they’d treat him either as glass or some peculiar exhibit behind it. And frankly, Noctis was perfectly happy to be left well enough alone if it meant he didn’t need to answer any more questions about how many people he had bowing to him each morning.

   (...It did, perhaps, get just the slightest bit lonely on occasion.)

   But that was alright. He had his father - and when he _didn’t_ have his father, because the rest of the country had his father, he had the castle staff - so it was alright, and he wasn’t quite alone.

   Still… he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t brightened just a little when someone had called out his name without that usual frozen awe. Perhaps he’d thought he would have a friend.

   Foolish to think. He didn’t know how he would even act around a friend. He’d demonstrated that perfectly well when he’d run away with barely a goodbye. Now he’d never know what the boy had wanted.

   He hoped vaguely, tentatively, that the boy might one day approach him again.

 

* * *

   _Hey there, Prince Noctis!_

_Huh?_

_I’m Prompto! Nice to meet you!_

_...Don’t I know you?_

_Uh? ...Haha!_

* * *

 

  _Gladiolus_

 

   He couldn’t remember what it was like to finish a day _without_ his muscles groaning in protest every time he moved.

   Stupid Gladiolus and his stupid training. Noctis wasn’t _like_ him, couldn’t he see? Only a few years older but miles taller (and wider, thought Noctis bitterly) and with a strength and tenacity rivalled only by a wild boar   - or, perhaps, by his own pigheadedness.

   Noctis was not quite like that. Small and slight, and with other things on his _royal princely mind_ than just bashing things up with swords - didn’t Gladiolus realise that Noctis’ time was a little more divided than his own?

   Stupid Gladiolus.

   Stupid, steadfast Gladiolus, who never moved no matter how hard Noctis threw himself against his bulk; no matter how much force he put into the thrust of his arm; who ordered him in a monotone to try again, once more, twice more, seven times over.

   ...Stupid Gladiolus and his dedication to his work, to the royal family - _his_ family - and his determination to train Noctis no matter what, and _damn it_ \- why could he do so easily what Noct couldn’t? It wasn’t _fair_ , they were divided only by a few years and even Gladio couldn’t have been training in infancy, could he?! Why was it, then, that he was so much better at - at - at _everything_?

   Noctis kicked a pebble. Maybe stupid Gladiolus should be king.

   It wasn’t like he didn’t _want_ to learn.

   It just seemed that everything came so easily to Gladio - his parries were effortless and he knocked Noct down with barely a flick of his arm and had the gall to seem _frustrated_ that Noct couldn’t do the same, and it just made him feel so worthless and _small_ that he didn’t want to try another time. If he was just going to incur that disappointed glare for _failing again_ \- why even bother?

   If stupid Gladiolus could do all that without even moving a muscle and he had to tear all his own just to budge the man a by half an inch, then maybe he just wasn’t cut out for the job.

   He wondered vaguely, bitterly, if he would _ever_ do anything right in Gladiolus’ eyes.

 

* * *

   _You still got a long way to go. But… You got guts._

_…?!_

_Iris told me the whole story._

_What story?_

_The real one, where you covered for her. Thank you._

_You don’t need to…_

_But that doesn’t mean I’ll go easy on you. You got a lot to learn before you’re king._

_Then teach me._

_...Heh. That’s why I’m here._

* * *

 

  _Ignis_

 

   He’d forgotten to pack lunch again. But that was alright - Ignis had surely slipped a sandwich into his bag before he’d left the apartment last night. Oh, and he’d not bought groceries again - but that was alright, too - Ignis would bring by whatever he needed, whether he knew he needed it or not.

   Noctis tugged absently on his sleeve, and the button fell away. But that was alright. Ignis would fix it.

   It didn’t occur to him often enough just _how_ present Ignis was, and just how much he relied on him. The thought irritated Noctis. A king was to be self-sufficient as much as he could - accepting help, not relying on it.

   But he wasn’t a king yet.

   Something Ignis seemed often to forget. What for all his pampering, Ignis certainly nagged him a lot - had he finished his homework, read that political report, eaten his carrots, cleaned up after his meal?

   Nag, nag, nag - the man was never not there, and he was never not hounding Noctis for something - but as much as he wanted to be irritated by Ignis Scientia (and as often as he succeeded), he depended on him, too, and a lot more than he realised or liked.

    Still, he wished Ignis would understand him better - he wasn’t just _lazy_ , it was more that the thought of becoming king filled him with a weight that pulled his heart down into his gut, and it was simply much easier not to think about it. And any semblance of responsibility - be it the report or the cleaning - simply reminded him of that looming throne and the implications that haunted it. Accepting that meant accepting other - other _things_ \- that he just couldn’t deal with.

   Ignis did not understand this.

   Perhaps, Noctis reflected, this was not entirely Ignis’ fault. After all, it wasn’t as though he, Noctis, had communicated any of this, and as many things as he was, Ignis was not a mind reader. But it still frustrated him somehow, unfairly, that Ignis could not simply look at him and understand. He seemed to understand so much else about Noctis, anticipating his every need and fussing about him like a hen, and it seemed so unfair that this - his greatest burden - should pass Ignis by as though entirely invisible or worse - entirely inconsequential.

   He was sure Ignis cared about him. The desserts - they were certainly proof enough, weren’t they?

   It was - it was nice.

   To have someone to care about him this much - like his father, only five hundred times more present. (Perhaps too present, sometimes, but all the same.)

   He didn’t communicate his gratitude, because of course he didn’t know how, and admitting that Ignis had done so much for him would mean admitting that he hadn’t been doing it himself, which would mean admitting he wasn’t ready to take on the mantle of king, and it would all begin again. But still...

   He thought vaguely, hopefully, that one day he might be able to give something back.

 

* * *

    _Did you cook?_

_Tried to. ...Hungry?_

* * *

  

   “Okay,” whispers Prompto, “okay, remember, when he comes out, don’t say anything about his birthday.”

   “Got it,” says Gladio, around a mouthful of toast.

   “Not a single word,” says Prompto.

   “Yes, we understand,” says Ignis patiently.

   “He’s gonna think we forgot,” says Prompto gleefully. “I can’t wait to see his face!”

   “This seems mean-spirited,” observes Ignis.

   “But you’re gonna do it,” says Gladio.

   “Yes.”

   The tent flap flutters and a hand reaches out to push it aside. Noctis stumbles out, yawning.

   “Morning,” he says.

   Prompto explodes. “NOCT! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! ...Damn it!”

   “Success,” says Gladio, rolling his eyes.

   Noctis smiles, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. “You do this every year,” he points out.

   “I can’t help it,” moans Prompto. “I get excited!” He dances up to Noctis and slaps him on the butt. “Another year older, huh, Noct! Here - lemme grab a snap.” He holds his camera out in front of them and grins. “Cheese!”

   “Another year wasted on you losers,” says Noctis, ruefully rubbing his butt and managing a pained smile for the camera. “Ow.”

   “Hey, that’s rude,” objects Gladio, grinning. “We were gonna be nice to you today and everything.”

   “You’re _never_ nice to me.”

   “Well, alright, I _won’t_ give you breakfast, then,” huffs Ignis, and Noctis lunges for the tray, laughing.

   “Thanks, Iggy,” he says, shoving a pastry into his mouth.

   “So what’s the plan today?” asks Prompto, still vibrating with excitement.

   Noctis shrugs. “Kill something?”

   “No! It’s gotta be something that we _don’t_ do every day.”

   “Kill something, but Gladio lets me win,” says Noctis.

   Gladio snorts. “Yeah, as if. You want that victory, you earn it. I’m not going easy on you.”

   “It’s my _birthday_.”

   “You want a medal for being born?” asks Gladio.

   “You _never_ let me win!” complains Noctis.

   Gladio laughs. “C’mon, you don’t need me to, do you?”

   Ignis clears his throat. “I hate to interrupt your - um, festivities, but we need to head into town first. I need to pick up some ingredients.”

   “No need,” says Noctis suddenly. “I forgot, I went and got some yesterday. They’re in the - uh, I put them somewhere.”

   Ignis sighs. “I suppose that’s something, at least,” he says, and smiles. “Thank you, Noct.”

   “No problem.”

   “Hey!” pipes up Prompto. “Let’s take a group shot! You know, to commemorate Noct.”

   “Good idea,” says Ignis, putting down the tray.

   “Wait, I’m not finished eating,” says Gladio, hastily shoving the rest of his toast into his mouth. “Don’t take it yet.”

   Prompto ignores this. “Say - uh, say ‘birthday’?”

   “Birthday,” chorus Ignis and Noctis, over Gladio’s panicked protests.

   “Nice one!” cheers Prompto. “Well - not Gladio, he looks like a maniac.”

   “Shu’ uph!”

   “So?” asks Ignis. “How are you feeling, Noct?”

   Gladio finally gulps down the toast. “Yeah, how about it? Older? Wiser?”

   “Ready to take on the world, all by yourself?” suggests Prompto, punching the air for emphasis.”

   Noctis smiles. “Nah,” he says, and looks at them all watching him eagerly. “Just... Uh, thanks. ...You guys... are the best.”

**Author's Note:**

> so uh, i kind of wrote this in a few hours because i've been a little busy but i wanted to write something for pearly's birthday. i had a draft for the prompto bit from a while ago, so i redeveloped it and expanded into this. all the same, it's not... super polished, cos i was rushing a bit... and i'm still not sure about the characterisation, since i'm pretty new to this franchise! but i really hope you liked it anyway.
> 
> anyway, pearly! happy birthday, you lame ass nerd. you're basically the irl noct as far as i'm concerned so i hope i've done his character justice. i hope you have a very great birthday and that this next year is super good for you. thanks for being a cool dude.
> 
>  
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/claviclegavin)  
> [tumblr](http://yuriopirozhki.tumblr.com)


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